Out & About / Ventura County : Family Jaunts : Rail to Two Cities : Heritage Valley Festival revelers can travel between Fillmore, Santa Paula by train.

For a second consecutive year, Fillmore and Santa Paula will host the Heritage Valley Festival, a two-day event that promotes tourism and business and celebrates the rich histories of the cities.

“This festival grew out of a plan by the [Ventura County] Board of Supervisors and business and professional groups to promote these two small communities with fun activities,” said festival spokeswoman Pam Colvard.

The restored historic downtowns in each city will be jammed with food booths, live entertainment and displays Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

And the Fillmore & Western Railroad will run trains between Fillmore and Santa Paula both days so visitors can see the citrus country that links the cities.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $6 for ages 12 and under.

The ride starts in Fillmore and takes about an hour each way. The train will stop in Santa Paula for 30 minutes before returning. Call 524-0330 for more information.

In Santa Paula, there will be an outdoor quilt festival, an antique plane and car show, arts and crafts booths, a children’s petting zoo and live entertainment on two stages.

In Fillmore, collector Phil Smith of Piru will display a vintage stagecoach, wagons, a jail and a hearse, and the Topa Topa Fly Wheelers will wheel out several pieces of antique farm equipment.

There also will be chainsaw carving, spinners and weavers, and other artists practicing their crafts during the weekend.

“These are not new, upstart communities. They are places founded on the oil and the railroad, and this is a chance for people to see living history and take a step back in time,” Colvard said.

Police and fire departments will also have displays, and employees from a teaching zoo at Moorpark College will show animals to children.

There will be a pet photo contest in Santa Paula, clowns, a Jolly Jumper and service club booths.

Beer, popcorn, barbecue, Mexican food and Cajun dishes will be sold in each city while several bands perform music from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, as well as swing, rock ‘n’ roll and Latin music.

For more details, call Colvard at 525-9820 or John Keisler in Fillmore at 933-4226.

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Midtown Ventura’s thriving art scene, a self-guided walking tour of several historical homes and a Santa Maria-style barbecue will highlight the second annual Midtown Art Fest this weekend.

On Saturday and Sunday between noon and 4 p.m., art lovers and the curious can tour galleries and studios and see more than two dozen painters, sculptors and artisans at work, according to the Midtown Community Council.

Ever wonder about those interesting sculptures peering down on the Ventura Freeway at Sanjon Road? One of the 18 stops on the self-guided tour will be the Crystal Hawk Studio, where that art is created.

The walking tour will take visitors on a one-mile loop starting at the Presbyterian church at Lincoln and Poli streets and wind past stately homes, many designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, according to community council members.

The barbecue will be held Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m. at Community Presbyterian. The tours are free but dinner costs $10 for adults, $5 for ages 6 to 12 or $25 for a family pass. Proceeds will benefit the community council.

Advance tickets for the barbecue and maps for the art and historical tours are available at the Midtown Resource Center at 1700 E. Thompson Blvd.

Tips of the Week: Mountain bike riders and equestrians can gather Saturday at 8 a.m. at Corriganville Park in Simi Valley for half a day of free workshops on how they can share trails.

There will also be a short group ride, a barbecue and prize drawings. For more information about “Share Our Trails: Mountain Bike and Equestrian Gathering,” call (818) 882-5522.

* The Moorpark Chamber of Commerce will host the city’s 20th annual Moorpark Country Days on Saturday. Festivities start at 9:30 a.m. with a parade on High Street through old downtown. Afterward, several blocks of High Street will be closed for a street festival that will include live music, arts and crafts, commercial vendors and a food court. For more information, call 529-0322.

Ideas for Jaunts can be sent to holly.wolcott@latimes.com.